the goan I network
VALPOI
There was an uproar after it was observed that the water treatment plant at Padoshe, Sattari was contaminated with petroleum.
Due to the contamination, the plant was shut down for four hours resulting in water shortage at different locations in North Goa. Besides this, water turbidity also increased tremendously over the last few days due to heavy rains in the hilly regions of Chorla Ghat.
The Padoshe water treatment plant is an invaluable water supply project for North Goa and is key to fulfilling the drinking water needs of the district. The plant has 25 mld water drawing capacity from Valvanti river.
Early on Sunday morning, it was observed that the water at the plant was contaminated with petroleum products due to which it was shut down from 6:30 am to 11:30 a.m for flushing out the petroleum-contaminated water. As per information received from official sources, the plant was restarted at 12 noon.
Speaking to The Goan, the assistant engineer in-charge of this plant said that the morning staff of the plant observed that the water was totally contaminated and a oily layer was seen at the top. Knowing this was a serious issue, the officials decided to shut down the plant and flush it of the contaminated water.
When asked as to the source of the contamination, the AE said, “There is a diesel and petrol pump located a short distance away from the pumping station of the water treatment plant. If there is leakage of petrol or diesel here, it could contaminate the Valvanti river from where we draw raw water.”
Meanwhile, it is also learnt that former CM and Poriem MLA Pratapsingh Rane had raised serious concerns about this petrol pump during its commission as it is located near the banks of the Valvanti river, but to no avail.
Speaking further, the AE informed that for the last 4 days, due to the heavy rains in the Chorla Ghat section, the water in the river was muddied which increased the turbidity of the water at the plant.
“As per guidelines, turbidity of water should be 10 NTU but due to the dirty water the turbidity had risen to 170 NTU. Efforts are being made to normalise the turbidity of water by mixing of chemicals. However, increased turbidity is not as serious an issue as contamination by petroleum products which can cause harm not only to human life, but also disturb the ecology of the river,” he added.
